A cute baby okapi has enjoyed its first day in the world after being born at Sedgwick County Zoo in Kansas.
The zoo posted an adorable video of the infant’s first moments with mum Likimi, at just a few hours old.
Posting to Facebook, Sedgwick County Zoo said: “It’s an okapi birthday! At 8.13 this morning, Likimi welcomed her fourth calf into the world.”
It’s an okapi birthday! At 8:13 this morning, Likimi welcomed her 4th calf into the world. Both mom and baby will stay behind the scenes for a while, but we’ll let you know when they’re ready for visitors. Gender reveal will come soon … keepers and vets are allowing plenty of space for mom and baby to bond and haven’t yet been close enough to tell. Fun fact: the okapi’s closest relative is the giraffe. You can certainly see the resemblance in the length of her tongue … it’s 12 inches long!Posted by Sedgwick County Zoo on Sunday, September 2, 2018
The new mum and her baby will stay behind-the-scenes in their enclosure until they are ready for visitors following the September 2 birth.
The zoo said they will reveal the baby’s gender soon, but first they need to allow plenty of space for the family to bond.
Posting a photo of the newborn, the zoo said: “We can’t resist just one more peek inside the okapi barn before we say goodnight!”
We can’t resist just one more peek inside the okapi barn before we say goodnight!Posted by Sedgwick County Zoo on Sunday, September 2, 2018
The video of the baby’s first moments has more than 37,000 views.
Although okapi have markings resembling a zebra’s, the forest-dwelling mammal native to the Democratic Republic of the Congo is more closely related to the giraffe.
The zoo said: “The okapi’s closest relative is the giraffe. You can certainly see the resemblance in the length of her tongue. It’s 12 inches long.”
